When Dakota's mission call arrived, he was going to school at BYU-Idaho and his mail was being sent home. He was eagerly awaiting this letter so I thought it would be fun to create a video to tell him when it arrived. We may have gone a little overboard.

At the conclusion of the fall soccer season Dakota decided that he wanted to try out for the AYSO tournament team that plays in the spring. The competition was extremely fierce but ultimately he came away making this all-star team. The boys are very talented and the coaches are extremely good. The tournaments go from the end of December through May meaning we will be spending most every free moment we have at the soccer fields either for practice or games. With so many of our firends and family not in the Phoenix/Chandler area we decided to take pictures to help everyone feel a part of Dakota's life. An on-line photo album has been created for Dakota's Newcastle Magpies's tournament soccer games.

After a successful season playing AYSO tournament soccer, Dakota tried out for the new AYSO Gold team. This is a new designation that offers a more competitive schedule than he has played in seasons past. The team is made up of many of his teammates on the AYSO Tournament Team he played on last spring. They have several matches throughout the area and have multiple games per week. On Thursdays the team plays Interleague play with other AYSO regions in the Valley of the Sun. On Saturdays they play American Youth Soccer Association (AYSA) matches against many of the club teams in the valley. Approximately once or twice a month the team plays in U14B two-day tournaments similar to the ones they played last spring with the Tournament team. I've created an on-line photo album for Dakota's Newcastle United's AYSO U14B Gold soccer games.

For the second consecutive year Dakota tried out for the AYSO Gold team. This is a relatively new designation offering a more competitive schedule than typical AYSO. Most of his teammates are returning for a second straight year playing Gold. They have several matches throughout the area and have multiple games per week. On Thursdays the team plays Interleague play with other AYSO regions in the Valley of the Sun. On Saturdays they play American Youth Soccer Association (AYSA) matches in Division 1 against many of the club teams in the valley. Approximately once or twice a month the team plays in U14B two-day tournaments similar to the ones they played last season with the Gold team. I've created an on-line photo album for Dakota's 2010-2011 Newcastle United's AYSO U14B Gold soccer games.

When the Arizona Diamondbacks were awarded a Major League Baseball franchise on March 9, 1995 I took that as an omen that I was destined to follow this team. After all, what other explanation could there possibly be for the team to be unveiled on my birthday? Two days later in the driving rain I stood downtown at then America West Arena and waited to put $50 down for a season ticket that would not be available for 3 years. They had not even broken ground on a stadium yet and I already had a deposit on season tickets.

By his very nature man is a social creature. Since the beginning of time he has attempted to communicate with others. Early forms of communication attempted to express man's observation of events going around him. This message evolved over time and became an opportunity not only to describe his own live but to interact with others to gain an understanding of what their experiences were.